The Beginning and the End of a Dream
by BlackBird'292
Summary: King Galbatorix. A name tied to tyranny, ruthlessness and unspeakable power. A living legend that rose to defeat the riders, and the man that took the throne of Uru'baen. But he too, once had a dream. A dream of a naive boy that wished to save the land.


"Denas. Denas!"

There was no answer.

"Denas!" The voice whispered louder.

Yet, there was still no answer.

"DENAS!" The voice yelled at the top of his lungs.

The sleeping boy inside the room yelped as he tumbled down the bed with a dull "thump". Rubbing his eyes, he looked over to his window, where the noise was coming from.

"Finally, the fool wakes. Do know how long I've been calling for you?"

Denas rubbed his eyes harder. "Tor? What are you doing outside of my window?"

Tor flashed a broad grin, and ran a hand through his jet black hair. "Trying to wake you, what else? It's almost midday, and here you are wasting your life on your bed. Come on, let's go! You know what today is, right?"

Denas grimaced and shook his head. "My mother won't let me go out today. Said something about you being bad and putting ridiculous thoughts in my head. She said—"

"Nonsense, nonsense." Tor waved a hand dismissively. "She should know that I—"

"Wait a moment. This room is on second floor! How are you standing there?"

Tor looked down at his feet. "A ladder, of course. You wouldn't believe how much I went through to get it. Nearly went across half of Kuasta to actually find someone who would lend it to me…"

"A ladder?"

"Indeed. Now get your lazy self off the bed and down the ladder before I go in and do it myself."

"But—"

"I'm waiting…"

"All right, all right!" Denas scrambled out the window and followed Tor down the rungs. "Which way is it?"

The black haired youth scratched his head thoughtfully. "The city square, most probably. It was held there before this one, so it'll still be there this year I think."

"Really?" Excitement was slowly creeping into Denas' orifinally nervous features. "How many people will be there?"

"Hmm." Tor grabbed the boy's hand and led him down several tweisting alleys. "Most of them will be guards. But there will be nobles, and of course, their children."

"Why only noble children can join the ceremony?" whined Denas.

"Because they're nobles." Muttered Tor as he and the younger boy ran down a few empty streets. "People that aren't can even come out today. It makes me furious sometimes."

"Does it? But you never do seem to get angry."

"Oh, I do. I just don't show it. Ah, this is quite a good spot." Tor smiled and guided Denas into what looked like an abandoned and shaky building. "Up the stairs you go! Don't stop until you reach the top."

"But—"

"You're worried that this entire thing'll collapse?" Tor laughed loudly. "I'm not, so why should you?"

Denas grumbled and climbed up the stairs as he was told.

"Aye, that's a good lad! Keep going!"

The house wasn't tall, so it took only a few moments for the two boys to reach the topmost floor. The wooden floorboards looked like they were going to break at any moment.

"Tor, why—"

"Look out the window." Tor answered, a wide grin spread across his face.

Denas did as he was told… and his eyes widened more than they had ever before.

Through the window, and between the gaps of several other houses, one could see the entire ceremony. Over a thousand guards dressed in ceremonial armor surrounded the entire square, all holding silver long swords and bronze-colored shields. Their cloaks were of the purest white, and their boots the shade of starlight. Nobles stood outside the enormous circle, watching the over the proceedings.

But it was the things in the middle of the square that caught the boy's eyes.

Ten dragon eggs. And a Shur'tugal, riding atop his mighty dragon.

The dragon towered above the guardsmen, its golden scales glitering in the sunlight. Nothing that Denas had seen before could even compare to the majestic presence of it.

"Quite a sight, eh?" Tor smiled as he looked down at the people below. "But we're not there yet. Come on, let's keep on running."

Without waiting for an answer, the youth pulled on his companion's hand and began to lead him down a dark alleyway.

"Are you sure this is the right way, Tor?" questioned Denas. "The ceremony is in the other direction—"

"Ah, trust me on these things." Replied Tor smoothly. "But do you know why I am going in this direction?"

"Why?"

"The guards do not know this route. As they do not allow commoners such as us to watch the ceremony, the only thing we can do is sneak in." explained Tor with a small smirk.

"But if we get found out…"

"We won't. And if we do, we'll get away easily."

"If we get caught—"

"We won't. And even if we do, I'll leave you there to take the punishment while I make my escape." The youth looked at the boy beside him with a straight face.

"Tor!"

"Alright, alright. I won't. What I'll do is hide in the shadow, laughing at your misfortune and idiocy…"

"Tor…"

"A jest, a jest. Oh, and here we are."

The two were now standing in front of what seemed like a huge mound of crates and boxes, apparently accumulated from shipments long past. It would be impossible to get through, unless one should climb over it; but even that would be too hard for the boys.

Denas hesitantly turned over to his friend. "Tor, isn't this…"

"Don't speak. Watch." Tor moved over to one of the crates one the ground and rapped it gently with his fingers. A large hole appeared in the surface as the piece of wood fell from its original position.

"Gods…" Denas crouched down and looked at the hold in awe.

A long tunnel went through the entire mound, apparently sawed through with a knife or a dull blade. Crates standing in the way were carved open and widened, leaving a hole large enough for a grown man to crawl through. Miraculously, the heap did not collapse because of it.

"Tor? How long did you—"

"A week and then some. He here did most of the work though." Tor patted the knife tied to his belt affectionately.

"A week! You were planning this a week ago?"

"Aye, a week." Tor crawled into the opening. "Hurry, or I'll leave you behind."

They crawled through the small space as quietly as they could, careful not to make noise lest some passerby discover them. Panting, Tor looked out the other side and motioned for Denas to follow him out.

It was the crowd.

Some watched the ceremony with unblinking eyes, wanting to see firsthand the creation of a new rider; some saw this as a form of entertainment, and looked over the square amusedly. The majority, however, were chatting to one another, having no sense of how important the rituals were how they would affect the entirety of Alagaesia. Fools that had no sense of anything; that was how most nobles were.

Quietly, the pair climbed onto a couple of crates so that the square was in plain view. Tor furrowed his brow as he took in what was before him.

The line was nearing the end. Strangely, none of the eggs had hatched for the numerous children that had touched them. When he had sneaked in here ten years ago, at least three of them hatched. Why was it that none of them did so now?

An idea sparked in the shadows of his mind. Tor grinned. Why not? There was nothing much to lose.

"Hey, Denas, he whispered.

"Yes?" the boy replied back in a hushed tone.

"I'm going to get one of them dragon eggs. When I get it, I'll toss the damn thing back to you and we'll see if you have the good fortune to become a rider."

Denas blinked, not sure of what he had just heard. "Tor?"

"Be on your guard. You never may know what would happen." Tor said solemnly.

"Of course I know what would happen! Guards would come after you, they would capture you, and they would kill you in front of everyone! And there is a rider! What are you thinking?"

Tor glanced at Denas, lifting a slim eyebrow. "I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking of how you should manage yourself once you're a Shur'tugal. "

"There isn't the slightest chance that I'll become one!"

The dark haired youth smiled. "Trust me. There's always a chance." At that, he squirmed through the crowd and vanished from sight.

"Tor!" screamed Denas. His plead went unnoticed by neither the youth nor the crowd of nobles. The small boy fought the urge to cry. That was Tor; so willing to do such crazy things for his friends, and yet so wildly unconcerned for his own wellbeing.

The last child stood up to the dragon eggs and touched their surfaces. Nothing happened, and the child walked away in barely concealed anger. The nobles sighed, and some of them groaned. Most of them came seeking entertainment, and the results disappointed them greatly. They started to move away from the square, and the guards shook their heads and broke their formation as well, ready to follow the rider to another city.

That was when Tor made his move.

The black-haired youth shot into the square like an arrow loosened from a bow. The guards yelled in surprise, reaching for their weapons. Even the rider seemed startled by the seemingly inhuman speed. The nobles were shouting and yelling, the crowd in a state of chaos.

The egg couriers were rushing to protect the eggs, but Tor was much faster. 

Coming to a swift halt, he grabbed the white egg in the middle and twirled around, stooping low. A sword went past the place where his head had been before.

The guards were coming from all directions, and soon, they would attempt to surround him. But that just made it easier for him to escape. With his small bulk, he could easily weave through the soldiers, and their numbers would work against them. They would collide against each other, each one obstructing the other, and with that, Tor could definitely—

"Cease your steps." Something as sharp and as cold as splintered ice pressed itself against the back of his neck. Tor stiffened, but he clutched even tighter onto the egg, holding it with both hands against his chest.

"If you do not let me go, I will smash the egg." The youth muttered back, playing his last card. Surely, they valued the egg more than the life of some boy like him.

The voice chuckled. Tor found himself liking the sound; for it was like the sound of running water in a brook, or wind chimes in a breeze. Who was it that stood behind him with his sword drawn?

"Great courage coupled with great idiocy. Very well, tell me then: do you really think that you can break it? A surface harder than the hardest stone, infused with magic far beyond your understanding?"

Tor's throat went dry. This was not the tone of a normal soldier. He could only think of one person who would have such speech.

"Shur'tugal." He whispered under his breath.

"So you are knowledgeable enough to know our hidden name." the rider seemed pleasantly surprised. "A rare thing nowadays. Now, if you would be a good lad and hand that egg over to me…"

"I won't." replied Tor without hesitation.

"You wouldn't?"

"I wish to give this to a friend of mine. A friend of mine that isn't a noble, if you wouldn't mind. Is that a crime, 'o mighty rider? Is it right for such an injustice to be continued? Is it fair that only ones of noble blood can take their chance?"

The youth could almost see the rider grimacing behind him. It was a pity that he could not turn around and see the Shur'tugal's face.

No… the rider wasn't thinking of how to respond to his questions. The rider was silent for another reason. Why was that?

A cracking sound reached his ears. A chill went up his spine. _It cannot be._

The noise grew steadily louder. _It… it simply cannot be possible._

Pieces of the eggshell dropped to the ground. He wanted to look at his hands, but he couldn't. His gaze wandered, first looking at the horrified nobles, and then at his only true friend, Denas. The boy that was more than five years younger than he was. Staring back at him in awe.

Finally, he gathered the courage to look down.

It was the beginning of everything.

The white, majestic head of the hatchling gazed up at him, and with its enchanting eyes, looked deep into his soul. A shiver worked its way up his neck and into his mind.

The feeling was alien. Such a small and helpless animal, so much younger than he was. So extremely vulnerable. But no matter how he tried to shake off the feeling, it still lingered. The feeling that the dragon was above him in too many ways to be counted, and he was inferior to it in any way. However, he still stared into its eyes.

Then, as if compelled by some greater force that he did not recognize, he set the creature down on the ground, and cautiously, reached out to touch it with his right hand.

From the palm of his hand, a cool and serene flow ran through his veins like quicksilver, cleaning out impurities, spreading throughout his body like a rush of ice. Unlike the bondings that he had seen before, there was no pain that he could sense. 

It was the strangest feeling. It was as if… his body was entirely his anymore, but shared with another. A pact of ultimate trust.

The rider behind him withdrew his sword, and walked in front of him with soft steps. He bowed slightly, and examined the dragon on the ground.

"Beautiful." He murmured, and stroked the hatchling's head. "What is your name, new brother in our ranks?"

"Tor." Mumbled the youth. However, with his left hand he gestured for the other rider to come closer.

"Can I trust you with my life?" Tor whispered. The Shur'tugal nodded slowly.

"Then I shall tell you my true name." Tor hesitated, but seizing his resolve, he continued on. "Galbatorix Vernephor, son of Eredorec and sworn enemy of the Broddring Kingdom."

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There it is. My new story and a way to get rid of my writer's block. Hopefully, it will be more popular than Night of the Falling Stars... oh well. Must get back to sleep.

Read and Review!


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